15 Expectations of Your Inner Circle of Leaders

June 15, 2015

Leadership

I aim to bring people close to me?my inner circle?who are healthy leaders, consummate professionals, and compassionate human beings. Before these people join my inner circle, I try my best to make certain?they?have the following traits and habits, or have the potential to reach them easily.

I hope these will help you to raise the bar for your own inner circle.

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Honor God and honor people. If we don?t align in these important personal values, I believe we will end up clashing and crashing.?If a person does not?honor God and honor people, I am not interested in working very closely with them.
Pursue personal growth. I need the people closest to me to have a healthy understanding that the road to success is a relentless pursuit of becoming a better human being. ?Those in my inner circle must proactively grow.??
Tell me when I need to hear the hard truth. I ask those closest to me to tell me when I need to hear hard truths, when I mess up, or when I am going in the wrong direction.
Help me grow. I need the people around me to help me grow. When a?they read a great book, learn a new lesson, or figure out a new perspective,?I want?to learn about it from them.
Protect my time. I will always respect and protect the time of those around me, and I ask for the same courtesy in return.
Complete?goals without reminders. I have worked with many who need constant reminders to get things done. Those are not good candidates for my?inner circle.
Have an impeccable work ethic. If I have to make sure a person is showing up and doing what needs to be done, I do not consider them to be mature enough yet for?my inner team.
Do the thinking before I do the thinking. If a person in my inner circle is in charge of a project, I ask that they do the thinking before they bring situations to me, unless of course we have agreed in advance to?brainstorm together.
Bring solutions along with the problems. I have had many high functioning leaders bring me lists of problems, as if I am the Answer Man. I am not. I need your help. I ask people to come up with several potential solutions that have been?thoroughly thought through, so when we are?together, decisions can be made.
Give?me options. When there is something under consideration, I ask my inner circle to give me?at least three options, the pros and cons for?each, and their recommendation(s). If I?only get?one option, it holds much less value because there is?nothing for me to compare it to.
Be engaged in the journey. If this is just a job to?someone, I prefer not to?work closely together. I look for someone who will be engaged in the mission. The members of my inner circle are my partners in keeping the dream alive. I love to see the people close to me actively contribute to and articulate the vision and remain connected to it.
Watch out for the bottom line, the culture, and the team. If I have to ask someone to watch out for the bottom line, to protect the culture, or?to bring the team together, we cannot work closely. If a person does not already know to watch for these fundamental areas in our organization, then they are not ready for?greater responsibility on my?inner team.
Don?t get offended. Being offended or upset with people is a waste of time and energy. If someone is?still at a level where they are?constantly offended, I cannot have them?in my inner circle.
Practice excellence. Anything a person in my inner circle does?must be done with excellence. No sloppy work.
Enjoy the journey together. Finally, we have to laugh together?like laugh really hard. Crack up! Life is short; I want to work with people I enjoy being around. And I want them to feel the same.

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We must be intentional about whom we bring close if we?want to see success in our leadership. ?I hope these give you an idea of how to articulate what you should expect from the people closest to you.

Actionable Step:?Start with the list above and adjust?it to fit your journey. Start aligning with those closest to you so there is harmony and progress.

Your Friend,